1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to data protection and more specifically to encryption and key management on a data-protected device.
2. Introduction
As more and more individuals and enterprises rely on smartphones and other mobile devices storing confidential or sensitive information, security is an increasing concern. Because such mobile devices are used as communication centers, they frequently contain sensitive information such as contact information, call logs, emails, pictures, and so forth, of high potential value and/or sensitivity. In certain applications, protecting this information is desirable. In some applications, encryption is used to protect sensitive information.
Encryption is the process of transforming a message into ciphertext that cannot be understood by unintended recipients. A message is encrypted with an encryption algorithm and encryption key. Decryption is the process of transforming ciphertext back to the message in a readable or understandable form.
One solution to protect sensitive information on a computing device having a file system for storing files is to encrypt the file system with an encryption key stored on the computing device that protects the entire device storage partition. However, if a device is lost or stolen, an attacker can run his own code on the device to obtain the encryption key. Once the attacker obtains the encryption key, the attacker can decrypt the entire file system and access encrypted sensitive user information. For numerous applications of secure and/or sensitive information, this level of protection is inadequate. What is needed in the art is a set of improved approaches for encrypting file systems.